The invention relates to a device for disinfecting and/or sterilizing contaminated, in particular infected materials, having a first worm conveyor that runs inside a pretreatment chamber and a second worm conveyor that is mounted at the end of the first worm conveyor and runs inside a treatment chamber, wherein means are present for sealing the two end areas of the treatment chamber to build up elevated pressure. Energy can be introduced into the treatment chamber in a defined way, water vapor supplied and/or generated and an elevated pressure and the temperature necessary for disinfecting and/or sterilizing can be built up and maintained.
In the German patent application with the official file number 197 17 839.1-41, a high temperature disinfecting and/or high temperature sterilizing device is described which is especially suitable for hospital waste and in which the waste is supplied by way of a receiving hopper and a crusher with worm conveyors mounted in succession. The first worm conveyor runs inside a pretreatment chamber, wherein a heating of the material to be treated occurs in the pretreatment chamber. This first worm conveyor is mounted so that is inclined diagonally upward in its conveyor direction which safely assures that contaminated fluid that is introduced into the disposal hopper can only collect in the area below the disposal hopper and/or in a low-lying section of the worm conveyor.
The second worm conveyor is mounted on the end of the first worm conveyor and runs inside a treatment chamber that is arranged horizontally. The actual disinfecting and/or sterilizing process takes place inside the treatment chamber. To do this, means are provided for sealing the two end areas of the treatment chamber to build up an elevated pressure.
In this known device, the pretreatment chamber and the treatment chamber are connected to each other as a single unit. Thus, there are no assembly means present, by means of which the two chambers can be separated from each other in a simple way. This means that e.g. repair work involving the chambers can sometimes only be carried out with great effort.
The patent U.S. Pat. No. 3,464,342 already discloses a device for treatment of chicken feathers and the like having a first worm conveyor mounted inside a pretreatment chamber and a second conveyor that is mounted near the end of the first worm conveyor and runs inside a treatment chamber. The device has means for sealing the end of the treatment chamber, so that an elevated pressure is built up inside it. To do this, defined energy can be supplied by means of steam in order to provide the necessary pressure and the necessary temperature for removing moisture from the material that has been introduced into the apparatus. The pretreatment chamber and the treatment chamber are connected to each other at an angle by a reversing component which is fastened by means of a flange connection so that it can be disconnected on one side to the end section of the pretreatment chamber and on the other side to a connecting pipe that opens vertically into the treatment chamber.
It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a device of this general type for treatment of contaminated, and in particular infected, materials that offers great flexibility with respect to its installation capability and with respect to the ability to change the angular position of the pretreatment chamber and the treatment chamber to each other.
The object is achieved by a device of this general type, in which the second worm conveyor basically extends inside the entire area of the associated tube section.
Because of this, it is possible to separate the pretreatment chamber and the treatment chamber from each other by simple disassembly of the reversing component. This makes it easier, for example, to replace one of the two worm conveyors.
In addition, the inclination of the pretreatment chamber can be changed easily by replacing the reversing component with a reversing component in which the two tube sections are arranged at a different angle to each other. This can occur, for example, in order to optimize the area within the pretreatment chamber in which fluid collects. In addition, by simply using an appropriate reversing component, the transition surface of the two tube sections is easy to change. Another advantage is that if there is wear on the reversing components, the pretreatment tube does not have to be changed and vice versa.
Preferably, the two tube sections of the reversing component are straight in longitudinal direction. In this case, for example, the second worm conveyor that is mounted in the treatment chamber can also extend into the corresponding tube section of the reversing component. This tube section can have another flange that is located at the end of the tube section lying opposite the first flange. On this other flange, e.g. a drive for the second worm conveyor can be mounted.
The reversing component can have an inlet neck for samples. In addition, connecting nipples for measuring sensors can also be provided on the reversing component, in order to measure the temperature, the pressure, the moisture content or the fill level in the treatment chamber, for example.
A preferred angle range of the reversing component lies between 20xc2x0 and 45xc2x0. This angle approximately corresponds to the angle at which the pretreatment chamber is tilted upward in the conveyor device, since the treatment chamber is preferably mounted so that it is horizontal.
Preferably means for sealing the treatment chamber are mounted inside the reversing component. Because of the simple replacement capability of the reversing component, the sealing means can also be changed in a simple manner. This permits great flexibility in the use of the device. Therefore, for example, a cone-shaped ring can be mounted in the end area of the first worm conveyor inside the reversing component in such a way that the material is compressed.
The first worm conveyor is preferably surrounded with a heating element in order to heat up the material to be treated while it is being conveyed by the worm.